AUGUST 1974

Strange, the things you remember. I have two clear memories of August 1974; one concerns the chart being one day late in Bank Holiday week, and the other concerns my father and myself clambering around the Bothwell Bridge area. In particular there was a steep upward incline back to the main road which I was encouraged, a.k.a. forced, to climb, with the proviso that I shouldn’t look back while I was climbing, so I didn’t. It didn’t feel too difficult doing it that way. Only when I got to the top, turned around and looked down did I see how far I’d climbed up. My father was quite proud of me so as a reward we went back into Hamilton and at Woolworths he got me Alan Freeman’s History Of Pop Volumes 1 & 2 Buy One Get One Free on Arcade Records. Decent summing-up too. It was a Thursday and a rare blazing summer’s day.

 

I remember seeing the video for “It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll” on the same edition of Lift Off With Ayshea as the Rollers, who were in the studio in front of screaming kids doing “Summerlove Sensation,” maybe a week or so after both singles charted. For the Stones it looked doubly embarrassing. The Good Old Days ran for thirty years (1953-83) on BBC1 and painstakingly recreated the atmosphere of a turn-of-the-century Victorian-cum-Edwardian music hall. The show was recorded at the Leeds City Varieties theatre; over to David Peace. Remarkably, 108 of its 245 episodes have survived in the BBC’s archives, which is more than can be said for the first dozen years of Top Of The Pops.

 

The female voice on “Honey Honey” turned out to be Polly Brown, formerly of Pickettywitch, who went and promoted the single with blackface make-up. Oh, dear. The song was an ABBA cover but that didn’t register with me at the time. “I’m Leaving It Up To You” – no parenthesis - was actually a Billboard number one for Dale & Grace in November 1963 but the Kennedy assassination put the record somewhat in the shameful shade. I wondered if the younger Jerry Dammers remembered the backing vocals on “Mr. Soft” when he put together “Stereotype” for the Specials six years later. Obviously the teenage Kate Bush was listening…”certain naughty things”; I was ten, gimme a break.

 

 

3 August

 

PAUL DA VINCI: Your Baby Ain’t Your Baby Anymore/She’ll Only Hurt You (Penny Farthing PEN 843)

Straight out of the Barry Ryan School of Suffering. Begins like Ravel’s Boléro before speeding up, and of course it’s the guy who actually sang “Sugar Baby Love” and it’s much better than the new Rubettes one, although his falsetto is strained and he misses the big final note completely. Not a number one.

 

DIANA ROSS AND MARVIN GAYE: Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)/Love Twins (Tamla Motown TMG 906)

More Thom Bell loveliness. Marvin in particular sings as though he really means it. We already have this on the L.P.

JIMMY RUFFIN: What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted/Don’t You Miss Me A Little Bit Baby (Tamla Motown TMG 911)

But this is the problem. A great record, certainly, but it’s a reissue from the sixties. What about now? But then again, perhaps it’s a British problem because Motown are putting out terrific singles like “Boogie Down,” “Just My Soul Responding” and “Dancing Machine” and they’re not really getting anywhere here. I think Britain still wants everything to be the sixties, even though in the actual sixties they wanted everything still to be the fifties.

THE ROLLING STONES: It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll/Through The Lonely Nights (Rolling Stones Records RS 19114)

What an awful sleeve – this is going right to the back of my singles collection. Boring song too; I’ve already seen them perform this on TV and they’re dressed like sailors and drowning in bubbly bath foam. It’s about as outrageous these days as Derek Nimmo. They should go on The Good Old Days and sing “Burlington Bertie.”

BAY CITY ROLLERS: Summerlove Sensation/Bringing Back The Good Times (Bell 1369)

For young people today, the Bay City Rollers are what’s happening now and the Rolling Stones are what used to happen. This is exactly the same as their two previous singles and will be another enormous hit because they, or their songwriters and producer, have got on top of their formula, unlike Alvin Stardust, and it’s what people want as opposed to the Osmonds, I suppose. They’re the new big thing and they aren’t T. Rex but I mean look at T. Rex now.

THE HUES CORPORATION: Rock The Boat/All Goin’ Down Together (RCA Victor APBO 0232)

This actually got to number one in the U.S.A. before “Rock Your Baby” but dozy old Britain is only just catching up. Like George McCrae, this is discotheque music with a difference that sounds like it’s pushing pop forward and not back to the fifties like everybody else. What a rhythm – it’s exactly like a boat rocking, in fact. Like Tony Orlando and Dawn only talented and good.

 

10 August

 

JIM CAPALDI: It’s All Up To You/Whale Meat Again (Island WIP 6198)

Smoky, moody ballad from the Traffic drummer. One to listen to at one in the morning, except I’m not allowed to stay up after half past ten, not even on my school holidays.

SWEET DREAMS: Honey Honey/I Surrender (Bradley’s Records BRAD 7408)

Bouncy bubblegum with a voice that sounds suspiciously familiar.

BOBBY GOLDSBORO: Hello, Summertime/And Then There Was Gina (United Artists UP 35705)

The new Coke commercial song.

THE GLITTER BAND: Just For You/I’m Celebrating (Bell 1368)

Pounding, threatening glam bop.

DONNY & MARIE OSMOND: I’m Leaving It (All) Up To You (MGM/Kolob 2006 446)

That bracket in the middle’s been put in to avoid confusion with “It’s All Up To You,” I guess. They’re doing this for the grown-ups now; country and western/easy listening from the fifties and they can’t get hits on their own any more. The young ones have moved away to the Rollers.

ERIC CLAPTON: I Shot The Sheriff/Give Me Strength (RSO 2090-132)

Good to see Clapton back in the charts. Unlike the Stones he doesn’t embarrass himself. This sounds properly grown up and will hopefully make people more aware of Bob Marley and the Wailers. That’s pretty cool for Clapton, as opposed to doing a Billy Cotton Band Show cover like some of his contemporaries might.

 

17 August

 

COZY POWELL: Na Na Na/Mistral (RAK 180)

Smart move – away from the instrumentals, and into hammering, chanting glam-rock. Immensely catchy and easily another top ten hit.

SYLVIA (Vrethammar): Y Viva Espana/Let Me Love You (Finalmente) (Sonet SON 2037)

Oh dear; this has been knocking around for over a year and has finally crept into the charts. Crass Spanish summer holiday song for drunk families in pubs to sing along to and it will be massive, it’s unavoidable, like one of those cartoons with a ten-ton safe being thrown out of a 20^th-floor window and the guy with no hat walking beneath it in the street and you know what’s going to happen.

BARRY BLUE: Miss Hit And Run/Heads I Win, Tails You Lose (Bell 1364)

Going for the Glitter Band sound now but there’s no real song there.

COCKNEY REBEL: Mr. Soft/Such A Dream (EMI 2191)

Jerky prog-rock Eurovision bumper with wayward violin and wordless male voice choir hums, and Steve Harley eating his breakfast backwards by the sound of it but this is phenomenally good and inventive and is from The Psychomodo which is a wonderful album that everybody should buy NOW, why are you still sitting there Rip van Winkle?! It’s good that strange things can still become big hits.

 

24 August

 

CARL DOUGLAS: Kung Fu Fighting/Gamblin’ Man (Pye 7N 45377)

Another scary Greg Edwards advertisement for this on Luxembourg – Pye really is the scariest of record labels – but this is going to be HUGE. Total cash-in on the TV show, of course, but all the boys are going to be kicking the schooglies out of each other in the playground once they’ve heard it.

PETERS AND LEE: Rainbow/Our Song (Philips 6006 406)

It’s clear they’re only going to get oompah-oompah hits now. So dated.

JOHN DENVER: Annie’s Song/Cool An’ Green An’ Shady (RCA Victor APBO 0295)

He’s on BBC2 and The Val Doonican Show all the time but until now not in the singles chart (although he’s written hits for Peter, Paul & Mary and Olivia Newton-John). Nice ballad, does what you expect it to do, should be successful.

SHOWADDYWADDY: Rock ‘N’ Roll Lady/I’m A Traveller (Bell 1374)

Brutish, thuggish revivalism, like people from the pub downstairs stamping and belching on our ceiling.

THE OSMONDS: Love Me For A Reason/Fever (MGM 2006 458)

Uh-oh, we’re not done with them just yet – a big weepy ballad with words that don’t quite make sense (“you bend and you fold me” – how do you manage to do that?) but straight to number one I expect.

 

31 August

 

BARRY WHITE: Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe/Just Not Enough (Pye International 7N 25661)

Speeding up the tempo for the dancers; ticks along efficiently.

ALVIN STARDUST: You You You/Come On! (Magnet MAG 13)

Same as he always is and the chart positions are steadily getting lower.

K C & THE SUNSHINE BAND: Queen Of Clubs/Do It Good (Jay Boy BOY 88)

The man who wrote and produced “Rock Your Baby” is back with this infectious screaming disco hopper.

PAPER LACE: The Black-Eyed Boys/Jean (Bus Stop BUS 1019)

Resembles the signature tune of an unfunny situation comedy about young men hanging around a boxing club that will end up being repeated at 2:30 in the afternoon after half a series.

JOHNNY BRISTOL: Hang On In There Baby/Take Care Of You For Me (MGM 2006 443)

This man wrote “Love Me For A Reason” and here he tries to be Barry White – the song is more or less “Love’s Theme” with vocals. It should be big, but some people tell me he’s singing about certain naughty things.